Tools and Techniques for Character Animation

Description

All professional animators know a handful of secrets that give them an edge in a production environment. "How to Cheat in Maya" puts these secrets in your hands! Learn time and energy-saving techniques tested in real Hollywood productions in this book, jam-packed with screenshots and scene files designed to get you up to speed quickly.

From menus to modeling, lipsync to lighting, How to Cheat in Maya2013 covers all of the methods available in the latest version of Maya. Get up to speed quickly and produce stellar results with these insider workflows. With new, updated cheats for the latest version of Maya, "How to Cheat in Maya" is an essential guide for amateur and professional 3D animators alike. Fully updated with gold-mine coverage including: expanded sections on production workflow, all new chapters covering rigging cheats and Maya's referencing tools, and brand new project files demonstrating production-proven techniques.

The companion website includes complete scene files for exercises and techniques, extra rigs, Quicktime movies of full projects, and video tutorials.

Author Bio

Eric Luhta is a professional animator whose recent credits include "Bioshock 2", "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs", "Horton Hears A Who!", and numerous television commercials. Eric has extensive experience with Autodesk's Maya, including teaching it, as an instructor for the Maya Training Program at AnimationMentor.com. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and 3 computers.Kenny Roy entered the animation industry in 1998 and has animated on feature films, television, commercials and rides, and started his very own animation studio in Los Angeles, CA. Now in its 6th year of operation, Arconyx Animation Studios has worked with clients Nickelodeon to Cartoon Network, Fox to Mattel. Kenny has mentored full time at AnimationMentor.com for 6 years, and also offers in-depth animation video training on his personal website, www.kennyroy.com. He lives in LA with his wife and son.

Reviews

"This book is one of the best resources for students simply because it eliminates the steep learning curve of Maya while cohesively applying the fundamental principles of animation."

--Ron Pucherelli, Animator, PDI DreamWorks

"How to Cheat in Maya 2012 is required reading for my animation classes and is a valuable reference for all animators."

--Cheryl Cabrera, Professor of Character Animation,University of Central Florida

"This book is an invaluable resource, because it focuses almost exclusively on using the animation tools in Maya. One heck of an addition to your animation library!"